Filter beds



No. 625,605. r Patented May 23, I899.

G. E. RIDGWAY.

APPARATUS FUR DISGHARGING' SEWAG E. &c., UPON FILTER BEDS.

(Applicaticn filed Feb. 1, 1899,) (No Model.) 8 Shanty-Sheet I.

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No. 625,605. Patented May 23,1899.

G. E. RIDGWAY.

APPARATUS FOR DISCHARGING SEWAGE. 81.0., UPON FILTER-BEDS.

(Application filed Feb. 1, 1899.)

(No Model.) 8 Sheets-Sheet 2.

No. 625,605. Patented May 23, I899.

G. E. RIDGWAY.

APPARATUS FOR DISCHARGING SEWAGE, 81.0., UPON FILTER BEDS.

{Applicatiog filed Feb. 1, 1899.; (No Model.) 8 Sheets-Sheet 3.

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No. 625,605. Patanted May 23, I899.

G. E. RIDGWAY. APPARATUS FOR DISCHARGING SEWAGE. 8m, UPON FILTER BEDS.

(A umion filed m). 1, 1599. (No Model.) 8 Sheets-Shut 4.

No. 625,605. Patented May 23, I899. G. E. RIDGWAY;

APPARATUS FOR DISCHARGING SEWAGE. &c., UPON FILTER BEDS.-

(Application filed Feb. 1, 1899.)

(No Model.) I 8 Sheets-Sheet 5.

Min-w TOR mmfixzs: GEORGE 52mm Rmq'wny v as $420 No; 625,605. PatentedMay 23, B99. 1;. E. RIDGWAY.

APPARATUS FOR DISCHARGING SEWAGE, &c., UPON FILTER BEDS.

(Appiication filed Feb. 1, 1899.)

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No. 625,605. Patented May 23, I899.

G. E. RIDGWAY. APPARATUS FOR DISCHABGING SEWAGE. ML, UPQN FILTER BEDS.

(Application filed Feb. 1, 1899.) (No Model.) 8 Sheets-Shae 7.

Patented May 23, I899.

v G. E. RIDG v APPARATUS FOR DISCHARG 6 SEW- 0., UPON FILTER BEDS.

(Application filed Feb. 189 (No Model.)

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cov. PAorc-Lh'na, wasumorou o c NlTE ' STATES PATENT OFFICE.

APPARATUS FOR DISCHARGING SEWAGE, &c., UPON FILTER BEDSA SPECIFICATIONforming part of Letters Patent No. 625,605, dated May 23, 1899.Application filed February 1, 1899. Serial No. 704,131. (No model.)

To LtZZ'whOm, it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE EDWARD RIDG- WAY, a subject of the Queen ofGreat Britain, residing at Ashley, in the county of Chester, England,have invented new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for theDistribution of Fluids,ParticularlyApplicable for Discharging Sewage orother Foul Liquids Upon Filter-Beds, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to improvements in apparatus for the intermittentand automatic distribution of fluids in general, and is particularlyapplicable to apparatus for receiving either by a constant orintermittent flow or supply the eifluent from any kind of sewage-tank orsewage-works or the like, or waste liquors from any kind ofmanufacturing process or the like, or water from any natural orartificial source whatever requiring filtration,

and for intermittently and automatically feed-.

ing or discharging the same onto the surface of a series of filters incertain definite quantities and in regular sequence,whereby a greateconomy of labor is effected and a more perfect action of the filters issecured and the requisite amount of rest for aeration is allowed.

The apparatus consists, in the first place, of a tank or chamber ofdefinite capacity (which I call the siphoning-chamber) into which thefluid-say the eflluent waste liquor or water-is allowed to flow and fromwhich it is automatically discharged and distributed say to thefilter-bedsby means of several siphons or valves as soon as it reaches acertain fixed level in the aforesaid chamber. In some cases I arrange inthe interior of the said tank or siphoning-chamber itself a row orseries of siphons or suitable valves each provided with a separateexit-pipe leading to, say, one of the filter-beds. When siphons areused, a convenient way of causing the said siphons to act automaticallyis to arrange in connection therewith a shaft provided with a series ofarms or tappets acting upon levers or the like connected to the saidsiphons in such a way that as the said tappet-shaft revolves it will.open the said siphons, either seriatim or otherwise, and rapidlydischarge the contents of the chamber through one or time the tankbecomes full.

The siphons are each provided with a counterbalanced lever, and as thetappet-shaft revolves one of its arms or tappets acts upon one of thesecounterbalanced levers and causes it to raise the dome of-thecorresponding siphon and empty out the contents of the chamber. As theliquid flows out the float descends, causing the ratchet or dog of thefloatlever to take up a fresh tooth of the ratchet wheel, and as thefloat rises again it releases the first tappet and brings a fresh tappetinto action, and when the liquid has attainedithe proper level again itopens another siphon and distributes the contents of the tank or chamberto a fresh filter-bed or receptacle, and so on. It will be obvious thatby arranging the positions of the tappets or arms accordingly theapparatus may be made to open a series of siphons or valves scm'atz'm,singly or in pairs or otherwise, as may be desired, the object inapplying the invention to the filtration of sewage being that eachfilter shall be allowed a certain amount of rest to aerate the filterafter it has performed its work before a fresh supply of liquid to befiltered is distributed therein; or the same result of intermittent andautomatic distribution of fluids may be obtained by the use of aseparatechamber containing a siphon working automatically, so as todischarge its contents intermittently into a second chamber providedwith the distributing-valves, the tappet-shaft of which is actuated by aratchet or equivalent device and a lever connected with a float in thesaid siphon-chamber or in a chamber connected therewith in such a waythat the rising and falling of the level in the siphoning-chamber shallcause the intermittent distribution of the fluid into a series ofchannels for conveyin g the same to its desired destination.

The manner in which myinvention maybe carried into practical effect willbe readily understood on reference to the accompanying drawings and thefollowing description thereof.

On Sheet 1 Figure 1 is a plan View, and on Sheet 2 Fig. 2 a transversesection, and Fig. 2* a detached part, hereinafter described, of asiphoning-chamber made according to the first-above-describedmodification of this invention. OnSheets 3 and 4 Figs. 3 and 3 aretogether a complete longitudinal section of siphoning and distributingchambers combined according to the modification of this invention lastabove described, and Figs. 4 and 4 on Sheets 5 and 6 show together apartial plan, partly in section, of this arrangement. On Sheets 7 and 8Figs. 5 and 6 are transverse sections through the distributingchamberand siphoningchamber, respectively.

Referring to Sheets 1 and 2, a is the siphoning-chamber, in which thelevel of the fluid rises, say, to the dotted line X, raising thefloat 1) into the position shown by the full lines. The float b iscarried by the lever c, which is provided with a pivoted catch 0, actingon a ratchet-Wheel d. This wheel d'is fast on the shaft 6, which isprovided with tappets 6 e e e e e 6 a so set thereon with regard to theeight teeth of the ratchet-wheel as to act in succession (as the saidwheel is intermittently moved) upon the corresponding arms or leversff ff f f f f These arms act on the domes g g g g g g g of suitable siphons,such as h, Fig. 2, comm unicating with outlets z" t 2' 11 i 2' 1 2'leading to the several (in this case eight) filters or other placeswhich are to be suppliedin turn with the. fluid. 76 It 70 k 70 7c 70 70are Weighted levers assisting the raising of the domes g g vi, and thechamber will be emptied. The float will then drop to the position shownby dotted lines, and the catch 0' will engage with asec- 0nd tooth onthe ratchet-wheel (1, so as to partly rotate the shaft 6 again at thenext charge of the chamber a with fluid and after L first releasing thedome g raise the dome g of the siphon k to. discharge the contents of Cb(when full again) through the outlet 1?, and so on.

Itwill be evident that by readjusti-ng theon Sheets 3, 4, 5, and 6, thesiphoning-chamber is in this case only provided with one siphon h, ofsuitable construction, automatically delivering the contents of thechamber a, when full, to a distributing-chamber a provided with a seriesof outlets i The levers jug-chamber a, are mounted .on a shaft b jseparate from the shaft e which is mounted above the chamber 0%, and(like the shaft 6 above described) carries a series of-saysix tappets 12 3 4 5 6, acting one after the other on a series of arms or levers fconnected or linked to levers g fitted to pivoted valves h closing theoutlets i I prefer to mount the lovers f loosely on one long bar or rodf parallel with the shaft e The shaft b is provided with an arm ccarrying the catch 0, which works the ratchet-Wheel cl on the shaft eThe first catch l (acting on the ratchetwheel l in the same manner as inthe modification shown on Figs. 1 and 2) may be carried by the rod orbarf as shown.

The action of this apparatus is as follows: Before the first charge ofthe chamber a with fluid the floatb and arms or levers 0 e and catch arein such position that the ratchetwheel d holds the shaft e so that thetappet 1 has moved the first of the series of arms f and raised thefirst of the valves h as shown in dotted lines on Fig. 5, and so hasopened the first of the outlets i so that as soon as thesiphoning-chamber a is full and the automati'c siphon h discharges thecontents thereof 1 into the distributing-chamber a the fluid can escapethrough thislast-uamed valve and outlet to the first filter or place towhich it is to be conveyed. The fall of the level of the fluid 1' in thechamber a will cause tappet 1 to allow 5 the first valve to close itsoutlet and tappet 2 1 to raise the second valve and open the second 3outlet, ready; for the second charge and dis- :j charge of the fluid.

It will be observed on Figs. 3 and 4 that there is an additional orrelief valve W and outlet z' fitted in the distributing-chamber a butthese are not'used in the ordinary course of work. Their levers,however, may be provided with a tappet on the shaft 6 2 should any valverequire repair or should it be desired todivert the fluid from one ormore of the filters or places supplied by the valves i 72. and outlets17. I prefer to make the outlet side of the distributing-chamber a ofcast accurately applied to the chamber, as illustrated by the drawings.By this invention the valves or siphons are l worked by the rise andfall of the level of the .fluid' in thesiphoning collecting chamber or 1tank and not by the rush or force of the flow of the fluid.

I claim as my invention- 1. Apparatus for distributing liquid consistingof a tank, anu-mber of openingsconheated with. the tank, means operatedby the rise and fall of the liquid in said tank adapted or arms a,carrying the float Z) in the siphon-' metal, so that the valves andoutlets can beto successively open different openings on the successiverise and fall of the liquid, as and for the purpose described.

2. Apparatus for distributing liquid, consisting of atank, a number ofopenings connected with the tank, a float in said tank, a rod carryingmeans for opening different openings at different stages of itsrotation, said float adapted to operate said rod, as and for the purposedescribed.

3. Apparatus for distributing liquid, c011- sisting of a tank, a numberof openings connected with the tank, a float in said tank, a rodcarrying means for opening different openings at different stages of itsrotation,

pawl-and-ratchet connections between the float and the rod, as and forthe purpose described.

4. Apparatus for distributing liquid, consisting of a tank, a number ofopenings connected with the tank, a float in said tank, a rod carryingmeans for opening different openings at different stages of itsrotation, pawl-and-ratchet connections between the float and the rod,and another pawl and ratchet to prevent the opening means from turningback, substantially as described,

5. Apparatus for distributing liquid, consisting of a tank, a number ofopenings connected with the tank, a float in said tank, a rod carryingmeans for opening different openings at different stages of itsrotation, said float adapted to operate said rod, and siphon connectionbetween said tank and the openings adapted to empty the tank and deliverthe liquid to that opening which is open at that stage of the rotationof said rod, substantially as described.

6. An apparatus for distributing liquids,

the combination of lever and float, ratchet and tappets, with lever f,counterbalanced domes and siphon, substantially as described. Intestimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE EDWARD RIDGWAY. Witnesses:

GEORGE DAVIES, JNo. HUGHES.

